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It’s time for Mario to hire an actual ST coach

DTP said:
I don’t think that’s the issue. Kick coverage is about discipline and doing your job. Memphis leads the nation in kick coverage. They’re not more athletic than we are.

We also do this weird angled kickoff where we overload one side of the field and angle the kickoff to that side. In theory that should help coverage but it’s clearly not working out for us. I don’t know if it makes keeping lane Integrity too difficult but we give up altogether too many long returns
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I think we're trying to get cute but don't have a single owner to actually make sure execution follows theory, so the result is a bust like we saw last week. If you are not going to heavily invest in a ST coordinator, then go base and vanilla and just do the basics well. Or hire one and get cute. You can't do both.
 
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305_separatist said:
I think we're trying to get cute but don't have a single owner to actually make sure execution follows theory, so the result is a bust like we saw last week. If you are not going to heavily invest in a ST coordinator, then go base and vanilla and just do the basics well. Or hire one and get cute. You can't do both.
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I’m just not really sure what a different coach is going to do differently. Our weakness is kick coverage but are there a bunch of different ways to cover kicks?

Our kicker is elite. Our punter is very good, even though we don’t punt a lot. Our kickoff return average is top 30, our punt return average is in the 70’s. So it’s not like our special teams are horrible. Is bringing in a different coach going to change how we run downfield to cover kickoffs? I don’t know to be honest.
 
DTP said:
Our weakness is kick coverage but are there a bunch of different ways to cover kicks?
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Kick coverage is align, assign, finish just like defense. You can line up any way you'd like and kick the ball wherever you'd like. In the end the coverage unit has to line up properly, do their job the right way every time, and finish plays.

Does every know their role?
Does everyone understand tracking, vice tackles, closing space?
Does everyone understand scallup, scrape, buzz, finish?
Which hip to track and finish on?
Block destruction?
 
Truth This Is True GIF by Ford
 
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Our special Teams coverage units are horrible.

Goodness knows we cant give other offenses shorter fields, and the KO return TDs have completely halted our momentum, and given it to other teams.

Also on KO return, we get a penalty like 70% of time we return one. Last game on first KO the flag came waaaay late, and I didnt see a hold on rewatch.

Miami 52 Lousiville 38
Miami 42 WF 7

In this world of beauty contests, that would look little different
 
DTP said:
You guys do know there is someone coaching special teams, right? He just doesn’t have the title “special teams coach”. Maybe he’s not doing a good job and they need to hire someone else but it’s not like there’s nobody coaching them.

Also, I’m definitely concerned with our kick coverage. We give up all together too many long returns but a lot of these special teams plays don’t impact overall results as much as fans may think.

Notre Dame leads the nation in blocked kicks (tied with Louisville) the rest of the list of teams near the top are mostly terrible teams with a few decent ones sprinkled in. There are 21 teams with 3 or more blocked kicks. Three of them are top 25 programs. FSU is tied for second nationally and they’re 2-9.

Kickoff returns is very similar. Oregon leads the nation in kickoff return average. The next closest top 25 teams are Boise who’s 27th and Miami at 29th. Nobody else in the top 30 in kickoff returns is any good.

Of the top 40 punt return teams, only three are top 25 programs. Tennessee is the highest at 11th. Indiana at 26th and Ohio State at 39th.

Kickoff return defense and punt return defense have more quality teams near the top so stopping returns seems to be more important than getting them yourself.

Miami is 123rd in kickoff return defense and 80th in punt return defense so those areas definitely need to improve.
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So we have someone. That someone just sucks or fails to adjust. Sounds like we have heard that for 8 weeks on D, too.

It would almost be better to have no one than to have someones that are so bad at it.
 
Jassid82 said:
With the extra scholarship limit increasing..I would absolutely scour the nation and give a scholarship to a KR/PR specialist imo. A guy whos only job is KR/PR and are **** good at it. Its a momentum changing position. All the air was let out of that stadium from Meesh Powells pick 6 after buddy took that KO return back the very next play. It absolutely halted our momentum. Thats what plays like that can do. Its absolutely worth a scholarship imo.
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Or kick it into the endzone.
 
I dont get why they dont try Lyle at kick returner
get him touches any way possible
he is one of the few players who can made house calls on any given play
 
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Kick return has been brutal. The speed is there but lane integrity is not. I've seen some fans call out Stafford or M. Williams on the TD returns. Gotta step it up.
 
kyle_schick said:
I don't think ST is a priority for Mario.

To me, the biggest problem is that its used to give the 2nd and 3rd string players a chance to play.

ST is one of the 3 phases of the game. Its equally important as offense and defense.

The best 10 guys need to be out there. NOT the guys who are developing.

The other problem is that our players (SoFl guys) tend to be extraordinarily low IQ, and that's a recipe for disaster.

I dont understand what the concept is for punt returns either. It seems to be to just allow the entire punt team to run down there unchecked and surround #35 so he can fair catch the ball.

The whole ST is very Mario-esque.
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We usually just stay in “punt safe” to defend against fakes, which makes sense because teams want to steal possessions against us to keep pace with our offense.

I think coverage units will improve as recruiting improves. We used to have future stars like Rolle, Taylor, and KW2 on special teams.

Dylan Day is looking like he could be a future big-time player.

I haven’t been impressed with Joyce at punter since he got here. Not consistent with distance or hang time.

I think CJJ needs to hit the hole harder.

He has elite track speed, but he kind of jogs. He needs to look like he’s shot out of a cannon.
 
We definitely defend the fake punt more than most teams I see. Definitely has to do with the number of teams that go for it on fourth down against us. I’m fine with it too. Just make the fair catch and give the ball back to our offense. If someone out kicks the coverage, grab as many yards as you can in a return
 
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